Weight Loss, Great Gain

David Teel

TAMPA, FLA. — Elton Brown is making nearly $1 million a year and preparing for Sunday's Super Bowl. Nice work if you can get it, eh?

"I'm living the dream," he said. "I'm loving every moment of it."

Indeed, Brown, an Arizona Cardinals guard from Hampton High, carries a digital camera - it gets lost in his oversized paw - most everywhere he goes this week. He proudly taped a shout-out to overseas military for the Pentagon Channel and awaits the arrival of 20 friends and family from home.

But don't confuse giddiness - the Super Bowl does that to all NFL players - with satisfaction. As much as Brown craves a championship ring, he wants a starting job even more.

"Of course, personally, I want to be playing more," he said. "I just do my job. Wherever I have to go in - I played tackle, I played guard, I played tight end. I prepare every week and go into every game like I'm a starter."

A fourth-round draft choice in 2005 after an All-American season at Virginia, Brown started nine games at guard as rookie, missing the other seven with a knee injury. Beset by weight issues - he mushroomed to 378 pounds - Brown did not play a snap in 2006.

It was a wasted year for a young man with uncommon agility and quickness for his position. When a new coaching staff arrived prior to the 2007 season, offensive line assistant Russ Grimm issued a shed-pounds ultimatum.

Brown wisely listened. His career was at stake, and the message came from an impeccable source: Grimm is among the best guards ever, an anchor of the Hogs offensive lines that helped the Washington Redskins win three Super Bowls.

"I thought he did a great job of getting his weight down," Grimm said. "He's probably one of the smartest guys on the offensive line, being able to play different positions."

Brown dropped about 45 pounds, and last season his versatility served him well. A reserve guard on the depth chart, he started five games at right tackle in place of the injured Levi Brown.

Elton Brown hadn't played tackle since his high school days, and naturally, he struggled at times. But team officials were impressed enough to encourage Brown, then a restricted free agent, to stay in suburban Phoenix.

Arizona tendered a one-year, $927,000 offer, allowing him to negotiate with other teams, but giving the Cardinals the right to match any offer.

Brown remained in Arizona as a backup. The starting offensive line remained intact throughout this season and the playoffs, but Brown did serve as an emergency tight end in an October loss at Carolina - he also played throughout the season on field-goal protection.

"He's a professional," said Levi Brown, a graduate of Norfolk's Granby High. "There are a lot of things that probably aren't going the way he wants, but he works hard and never complains."

"It's kind of a Catch-22," Elton Brown said. "You want to play more, but (the starters) have been doing a great job."

Brown becomes an unrestricted free agent at season's end and plans to explore options with his agent, Joel Segal.

"I haven't thought about it too much yet," Brown said. "When that time comes, we'll deal with it and see where we go. Coming back to Arizona will always be my first option. I love the city, I love the fans."

This is the Cardinals' first Super Bowl appearance and an unexpected one at that. They lost four of their last six regular-season games, including a ghastly 47-7 defeat at New England.

But Brown said the team rediscovered its rhythm in a 34-21 victory at Seattle to close the regular season, rode that wave into the playoffs "and here we are."

And here come his family and friends, including his mom, who never misses a Cardinals game. Each player is allotted 15 tickets - per-ticket price ranges from $800 to $1,000 - and Brown scrounged up five more.

That's a mighty big check.

"It doesn't matter," Brown said. "You only get so many opportunities at this. I think it's worth it. I have to take care of the people who got me here."

David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/teeltime.

SUPER BOWL XLIII

WHO: Pittsburgh Steelers

vs. Arizona Cardinals.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Sunday.

TV: NBC 10 12.

TEEL TIME

Senior columnist David Teel is in Tampa, and he is blogging a few times a day. The latest is on James Farrior, who was a linebacker at U.Va. and is the leading tackler for Pittsburgh. NFL defensive player of the year James Harrison called Farrior "the nuts and bolts of our defense." To read more, go to dailypress.com/teeltime.